This is me (Sarhn) ~ being open, honest and accountable on my quest to live sustainably….

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Am I a weird and strange person?

I just got off the office phone at work after speaking to one of those companies selling inkjet cartridges.

Any business owner or receptionist will know how annoying these calls are.At Sarhn McArthur Photography we get around 3 of these calls a week (not to mention the equally annoying telecommunication company calls, which we receive around 5 a week).

Usually it is hard to understand their prepared script with their very heavy Indian accent.I always try to be patient and polite (while trying to get off the phone as quickly as possible) as I know they have a job to do and it is a way of supporting their family.

This man was telling me he could sell me inkjet cartridges brand new and cheaper than I could get anywhere else. To which I shared “we are an environmentally concerned company and get our cartridges refilled as it uses less resources and energy”.

He asked me what it costs to have my cartridges refilled then excitedly shared that he could get me brand new ones at $10 less.

“You are missing the point” I responded “we are an environmentally concerned company and hence are happy to pay more for services / products that are the best option available for the environment”.

“You are a very weird and strange person” was his response as he hung up the phone.

Is my reasoning that unusual?I understand that my thinking is shared by only a minority of the world’s population but I did feel the percentage was increasing.

I am not upset about being called ‘a very weird and strange person’ by a supplier but just sad that people don’t get it.I understand that not everyone lives a comfortable life in Australia as I do and hence environmental issues will not always be a priority.I had hoped however, that at least the environment may be on their radar.

Just thought I would share today’s tale with you my faithful readers.If nothing else this post may help you to achieve politely ending annoying telemarketing phone calls i.e. talk about environmental issues.J

:
then) if this doesn’t work I’ll try this (-) well it’s kind of round like a face with a line for the mouth, nah, well, let’s say it’s the intention that counts……….( an excuse to get away with my limited computer skills !!!!!)
Cheers again’
Luc.
PS: I was born and raised in France….( another way to excuse my spelling and grammatical misconducts !!!)

You have made mine too…you see how little it can take for coherent ( while “irrational”) people to actually connect and have a decent conversation…( maybe something politicians could learn from……)…
You have wonderful day “mate” …..( I briefly visited Perth and Freemantle years ago….) ( smile… I can’t find a way to include a funny face like you did…)
Cheers.
Luc.

Thank you very much for the support,( and for your prompt answer…) this will give me ( hopefully…) a temporary reprieve from the straight jacket, and at the same time a personal relief about the state of my sanity…..While you also seem to be “out there” ( a badge of honor in MY book….)), you also strike me as being very much more”together” than most “rational” people I had the displeasure to encounter in my life…..Thank’s again and let’s stay in touch…it’s so refreshing….
Cheers and good luck.
Jean-Luc Piazza.
Miami, fl.

Well, if you are weird, you aren’t alone, I was just doing the math, and realize that the way we use our swimming-pool,( I live in Miami,fl.) costs us an average of : $300 an hour…….Last year use: about 8 hours, cost in chemicals,electricity, average maintenance…..$ 2200. So something crazy came to mind, why not using the pool to farm fishes instead !!!!!! That could give us not only free fresh fishes all year long ( with the knowledge of where they came from and what they were fed with..) but also probably absorb the maintenance costs… Am I out of my mind, or is it something feasable ? please let me know about any tips or sources of information I can get before my family try to get me commited to a mental institution !!!!
Thank’s in advance for any help…The look on their faces (my family again…) tells me I don’t have much time left !!!
Keep up the spirit.
JL-Piazza.

Hi Sarhn, thanks for the kind comment. I didn’t set out to be inspirational, but if that’s how people think, then I feel honoured to call them green friends.

I get those weird looks all the time, but I just take it as a given, because I believe that most people just don’t and some won’t ever get it until it is too late for them. It makes me feel sorry for them! Keep up the good work.

That is very funny – makes me laugh thinking of my husband sitting in his spa with fish. Interesting enough when I mentioned your comment to him last night he thought the practise of having fish in pools wasn’t so uncommon in days gone past.

He said he can remember his father telling him stories of people throwing trout in their pool over the winter to keep it clean without the use of chemicals.

Go tohttp://www.backyardaquaponics.com.au
if you want to find out if you can convert you spa. It’s a gold mine of information. Sorry I didn’t link the address, I haven’t worked out how to do that yet. If your husband isn’t too keen on the idea just tell him that the fish won’t mind sharing the spa with him.

I’ve been reading Gavin’s blog, that’s how I came across yours. Thanks for the comments you left, it was so cool to get my first comment .

What a great story and idea! I never knew you could create your own fish farm from a swimming pool.

If you we worked together and you made that comment, I would have asked all about what you were doing. I wonder if we could do it with our outdoor spa (I think my husband wouldn’t be happy).

Hey Nevyn, I checked out your blog. Welcome to the journey. It is nice to meet bloggers who are travelling the same way. Have you checked out the ‘Greening of Gavin’ Blog (see my Australian Blog Roll) as I really find his blog inspirational.

I know how you feel. I mentioned at work the other day that we have 200 fish in our swimming pool. I got alot of incredulous looks and “Whys”. When I explained that we plan to eat them when they get large enough there was a short silence followed by a collective oohh and probably a few eye rolls. Only one person in the room asked me about what we’re doing and that was because he did a course in fish farming. They all probably think I’m wierd but come Xmas time I plan on eating VERY fresh fish and hopefully red claw. If that make me ‘wierd and strange’, I thank them for the compliment.